The Brainard surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,992 people carried this name — #8,299 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,929 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

94 families named Brainard, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 622 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 69
Maine 7
New Hampshire 7
New York 6
Vermont 3
Massachusetts 1
Maryland 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 231 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Brainard in American newspapers,
1896–1902.

Newspaper page from Converse County Herald carrying the name Brainard
Converse County Herald 1896-05-28
Newspaper page from News And Citizen carrying the name Brainard
News And Citizen 1902-08-06
Newspaper page from News And Citizen carrying the name Brainard
News And Citizen 1902-05-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 67,897 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Brainard in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

130 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brainard. The most, 21, date from the 1890s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 49
South Australia 23
Queensland 22
Victoria 21
Western Australia 9
ACT (Canberra) 3
Tasmania 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brainard.

Who carried it

People named Brainard,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Gardiner Calkins Brainard
    John Gardiner Calkins Brainard 1795–1828 · writer
  • Daniel Brainard
    Daniel Brainard 1812–1866 · surgeon
  • Benjamin Chapman Brainard
    Benjamin Chapman Brainard 1841– · politician
  • Asa Brainard
    Asa Brainard 1841–1888 · baseball player
  • David L. Brainard
    David L. Brainard 1856–1946 · explorer
  • Horace J. Brainard 1825–1902 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Brainard,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States430 records

430 records of the Brainard name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 133
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 119
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 75
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 60
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 16
  • Sacramento County historic burials 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Don E. Brainard

    Born 1902 in Iowa. Enlisted 1942 at Dallas, Texas; store manager. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1965, buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Brainard

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1846 aboard the Provincialist from Londonderry, aged 27; farmer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Dar A. Brainard

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1887, died 1958; buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 430 records for Brainard in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Brainard name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Olive Brainard

    Buried in 1929 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Augusta Brainard

    Married 1889 in Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Brainard name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William L. Brainard

    Factory manager of New South Wales; died 1949.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Brainard name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert William Brainard

    Born 1931 in the United States; died 1996 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brainard.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brainard is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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